PhD student (4 positions)

Project title:

Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY
Project is carried out within the MAB/IRA programme of the Foundation for Polish Science

Project description:

To study aberrant synaptic plasticity that underlies diseased mind Kaczmarek lab investigates molecular mechanism underlying synaptic plasticity in healthy and diseased mind and has recently demonstrated that matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9, an extracellularly operating protease previously shown to control molecular, structural and functional synaptic plasticity) plays a pivotal role in alcohol addiction, supporting motivation towards alcohol seeking (Stefaniuk et al., Biological Psychiatry, 2017), as well as contributes to delusional symptoms in schizophrenia (Lepeta et al., EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2017). Knapska lab research is focused on investigation of neural representations of emotional states in interacting animals and humans. Using behavioral models of socially transferred positive and negative emotions as well as high-throughput behavioral measures of social interactions of their own design (Eco-HAB system, Puscian et al., eLife, 2016), neuronal tracing and optogenetic,s as well as brain imaging, they characterize neuronal circuits and cellular mechanisms underlying social interactions of humans rats and mice and validate tissue-specific therapeutic interventions using mouse models of synaptopathies relevant to autism spectrum disorders (Meyza et al., Neurosci Biobehav Rev., 2017).

Key responsibilities include:

• Planning and conducting experimental work

• Data analysis

• Manuscript preparation

Project leaders:  Leszek Kaczmarek and Ewelina Knapska